title: [Treatment response in chronic hepatitis C. Content of virus in serum is decisive for the outcome].
abstract: The article consists in a brief review of pre-treatment evaluation and antiviral treatment of chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infection. Patients with viraemia (i.e. HCV RNA seropositive with the PCR technique) should be evaluated historically if they lack contraindications for interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) treatment. Patients with depression, autoimmune and thyroid disorders, decompensated cirrhosis, or solid organ transplants, are ineligible for-IFN-alpha treatment. If the histological evaluation shows moderate to severe chronic hepatitis, and the HCV RNA level is < 3 million Eq/mL serum as measured by bDNA, naive (i.e. formerly untreated) patients should be given an initial 12-week course of IFN-alpha to evaluate treatment response. Those who become HCV-negative should continue the treatment for 48 weeks to increase the likelihood of sustained virological response after treatment cessation. Treatment should be discontinued in the case of patients still HCV-positive at 12 weeks, as the chances of obtaining sustained response are remote. Patients with higher pre-treatment HCV RNA levels (> or = 3 million Eq/mL) and patients manifesting unsustained response to earlier IFN treatment should receive combination treatment with ribavirin and IFN-alpha, as treatment with IFN alone is associated with poor chances of sustained response. This treatment approach is associated with an estimated sustained response rate in naive patients of 40-50 per cent.
authors.affiliation: Infektionskliniken, Huddinge sjukhus.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Weiland
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Danielsson
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lööf
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D012367:RNA, Viral
vernacular_title: Behandlingssvar vid kronisk hepatit C. Mängden virus i serum avgörande för resultatet.